China imposes sanctions on House Speaker Pelosi after her visit to Taiwan
BEIJING — China has imposed unspecified sanctions on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “and her immediate family members,” the Foreign Ministry said in Beijing on Friday.
“In disregard of China’s grave concerns and firm opposition ... Pelosi insisted on visiting China’s Taiwan region. This constitutes a gross interference in China’s internal affairs,” the ministry statement said.
“It gravely undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously tramples on the one-China principle, and severely threatens peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
“In response to Pelosi’s egregious provocation, China decides to adopt sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family members in accordance with relevant laws of the People’s Republic of China.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said
Beijing was also halting dialogue with Washington on a number of key issues including defense policy coordination, cooperation on the repatriation of illegal immigrants and legal assistance in criminal matters.
The United Nations expressed concern and according to a spokesperson, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres sees “no way to solve the most pressing problems of all the world without an effective dialogue and cooperation between the two countries.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China was trying to change the status quo in the Taiwan strait with missile tests and military exercises.
“The fact is the (Pelosi’s) visit was peaceful. There is no justification for this extreme, disproportionate and escalatory military response,” Blinken said at a meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Cambodian capital.